


The Warden

by NannaMelissa



Category: The Last of Us
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 21:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13349571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NannaMelissa/pseuds/NannaMelissa
Summary: A song fic of The Warden by Chelsea Wolfe. About Ellie's time in captivity.





	The Warden

**Author's Note:**

> It would help if you listen to the song before/during reading. Here's a link for ya
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiwBe8GX-HU

Butterfly knife in hand, she approaches the door ahead. Bodies lay behind her, slit and bled. Shaky hands grip the handle, sore shoulder rams against the door. Right when the block is free arms wrap around her neck.

_The saw in the hands, it's white as snow_  
_The heavy endless weight on my heels, it's cold_

He tells her to relax as his grip tightens. The cold of the stone floor seeping through her jeans, becoming less noticeable as she struggles. He tells her he’s keeping her alive and her struggle continues in vain. Vision becomes hazy, the snow beyond her grasp teasing her freedom. Her knife falls on the ground as her body turns limp. Head rests on his arm as the cold consumes.

_The water on my head, but I won't speak of you_

Shaking from cold she finally awakes. Visions of earlier in the day plays beyond closes eyelids. Her patient alone in the basement, wound fighting an infection. While her hunting trip proved to be resourceful, it had severe consequences. They tracked her down but never found him. She will never let them know of him. Sadness takes home in her lungs, trying to breathe in suppressants of guilt.

_The hall and the rack and the wheel, it's true_

Arising, she gains her balance. The cage is held within an unknown location. A man is holding a cleaver, the noise of the blade cutting through the silence. Rubbing her eyes, she sees what was harvested. An arm of an unknown is severed from their body. The lack of blood looks as though it was bound before slaughter. Bones almost look broken with how limp it is. Her stomach churns. A gasp leaves her mouth as the limbs are tossed to the floor. A mysterious man looks down at wide, green eyes. The reality of the situation now known.

_And when it turns_  
_The hole in my vision fills with you_

She struggles with the door, chained shut and locked. Strength wasted, effort in vain. Her heart begins to quicken, thinking of what could have happened to him. With his injury could he have gotten away or even put in the effort to defend himself? His hazel eyes surrounded in years of wear come into her view. Pacing she begins to panic. Did they get to him? Did they kill him? Those hazel eyes continue to fill her mind, her lungs feelings like they’re gripped by his arms. The arms that have saved her life countless times from those infected.

_The cold and the loud and they won't let me sleep_  
_I've been dragged on the floor and my blood earns my keep_

His voice echoes within the room, asking how she was feeling. Holding a tray in his hands, he walks forward towards her with a meal. Her response a spiteful ‘super’ as his face contorts into a false smile. He slides down the tray to her feet, telling her she has been unconscious for quite some time and he knows she’s hungry. Her eyes fill with disgust as she asks what it is. The answer is supposedly deer but a quick look over his shoulder proves otherwise. His words persuade her to eat alongside the burning of her stomach. Running on fumes in a situation such as this won’t prove satisfactory efforts or results. She kneels down and beings fueling her body for what is to come.

You and your friend killed how many men? She tries to keep a poker face while her stomach clenches at the thought of them knowing Joel’s location. You kill to survive and so do we was the answer to her statement of ‘you didn’t give us much of a choice’. We need to take care of our own by whatever means necessary rings truth within her as she ignored bells the previous day to get antibiotics.

“So now what? You gonna chop me up into tiny pieces?”  
“I’d rather not. Please tell me your name.”

A fury gains within her being as she thrusts the tray under the door, anger pasted over her eyes.

“You’re so full of shit!”  
“On the contrary, I’ve been quite honest with you. Now I think it’s your turn. It’s the only way I’m gonna be able to convince the others.”  
“Convince them of what?”  
“That you can come around. You have heart. You’re loyal. And you’re special.”

His hand grabs hers in a way that feels wrong. His eyes show lust. Her mind goes into double time, deciding to play along. Looking down with caring eyes, she puts her other hand on top of his. In one swift movement she breaks his finger on the door and swoops down to grab the keys on his belt. Continuous misses lead to her face being bashed into the bars, cutting her face.

 **“You stupid little girl!** You are making it very difficult to keep you alive. What am I supposed to tell the others now?”

He turns to walk out of the door but her nerve hasn’t been spent just yet.

“Ellie. Tell them that….”

A sigh leaves her lips.

“Ellie is the little girl that **broke your fucking finger.** ”

“How did you put it? Hmm? Tiny pieces? See you in the morning, Ellie.”

A nod later he leads towards the door, leaving her alone as a dismembered corpse serves as her view. Tears rip their way through to the surface, mixing with the blood on her face. She knows her fate as she knows this will be her final resting place.

_My body holds a picture of the sun, it's you_  
_The warden bore a hole in my skull, it's true_

Adrenaline wearing off her eyelids begin to flutter. Laying her head in her arms she drifts to sleep. Joel’s back comes into picture as her legs bounce to Callus’ rhythm. Her head rests on his back, the worn flannel caressing her face. His shoulders rumble as he beings to sing she doesn’t know. Words indistinguishable but his voice is strong. Sensation caused is almost like a cat’s purr as she smiles.

“Hey kiddo. Any requests?”

A giggle leaves her tiny frame, she grips tighter around him.

“Do whatever you feel like. I’ll try to keep my boo’s to a minimum.”  
“Hey, if that’s the case I won’t sing anymore.”  
“God Joel I was just joking.”

He laughs, pats her knee and sings. Autumn leaves pass, orange and red flooding her view.

_Tore off my limbs and my breasts_  
_The heart, it's heavy in the chest_  
_And when it turns_  
_The hole in my vision fills with you_

His voice begins to sound like he’s struggling. In a blink she’s no longer on their horse but rather on the table. She stares up at the ceiling, eyes darting. Surveying.

She looks down onto her body and finds her body naked and dismembered. Her breasts cut and tossed for easier access to what meat they could scavenge off her. She feels her limbs tied and she struggles for freedom. Only to feel the blade of the cleaver slice through her flesh. Eyes close as pain swells over her body. Joel’s face burns into her eyelids as she drifts off. The last feeling is the utter failure of her efforts to save the only person she cares for.

_Tore off my limbs_  
_And my breasts_  
_The heart, it's heavy_  
_In the chest_

Breathing heavily, she awakes to the sound of chains coming loose. Two men surround her and the struggle for escape becomes eminent. The younger of the two wrap his arounds around her to little success. David aids to only be bit by the young girl. Tired of her protests and lift and slam her onto the wooden table.

“I warned you.”

His arm raises with gusto, aiming to strike down on her neck. Before he commits her lungs spew out her secret.

“I’m infected! I’m infected!”  
“Really?” Doubt heavy set in a smirk.  
“Right there. Roll up my sleeve. **Look at it!** ”

_Pulled out my tongue_  
_So I can't speak the truth_  
_The picture in my vision_  
_It’s the sun, it's you_

Slamming the blade into the table he claims he’ll play along. Rolling up her jacket he reveals her scar.

“What did you say? Everything happens for a reason, right?”

The younger man’s expression turns into panic.

“ **LOOKS PRETTY FUCKIN’ REAL TO ME.** ”

David looks down to where she bit his hand. Taking this moment of weakness, she grabs the cleaver and slices right through the other man. Rolling off the table and avoiding his gunshots, she leans against a wall. Out of the corner of her eye, the butterfly knife is stabbed into a shelf. Hearing the crazed man approach, her hand grips the trusty metal and vaults out of the window. The snow is blinding but that adds to the young girl’s determination. Joel laying in that cold basement, barely alive breathes new life in her veins. Senses in full force, she trudges on to the first building she sees.

Butterfly knife in hand, she approaches the door ahead.

**Author's Note:**

> I was just listening to her album Pain is Beauty for the something amount of times and since I've been binging out on playing the Last of Us for the past couple weeks I was inspired to do a song fic based on one of my favorite songs from Chelsea. I thought I could maybe use the different torture devices mentioned in the lyrics to depict how Ellie was feeling when she was captured by David and not knowing what happened to Joel.


End file.
